Diffuser for hair dryer

ABSTRACT

Diffuser attachment for hair dryer with a collar and a flared hollow diffuser head. The collar is fixedly attached to the diffuser head. The diffuser head is constructed of semi-rigid molded plastic and includes a plurality of air releasing apertures. The collar, partially comprised of an elastomeric plastic capable of being flexed and deformed by a user. The collar is oval shaped in plan view in its relaxed position. The collar is capable of being deformed by a user into a circular shape to facilitate attachment of the diffuser to a hair dryer nozzle. The collar is capable of tensionally and frictionally remaining in place on the nozzle of the hair dryer when the user releases the collar, conforming to the nozzle, after attachment.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Not Applicable

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

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DESCRIPTION OF ATTACHED APPENDIX

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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to the field of hair dryer accessories and more specifically to a diffuser for a hair dryer.

Hair Dryers are commonly used to assist people in drying their hair quickly. They are electric devices that blow hot air onto a users wet hair to facilitate drying.

An additional feature that can be attached to a hair dryer is a diffuser device. Diffusers generally have a flared head with a plurality of small apertures that spread the hot air that exits a hair dryer so that the warm air reaches a greater surface area of the head. The hot air is diffused and therefore does not create a hot spot on the user's head during use.

Current diffuser heads tend to be designed specifically for a particular hair dryer. The collar portion of the diffuser usually either snaps onto the leading edge of the hair dryer nozzle or alternately slips onto the outside diameter of the hair dryer nozzle and stays on via a frictional fit.

A deficiency in the prior technology is that most existing diffusers are rigid in construction and therefore will not necessarily fit on hair dryers having an external nozzle diameter that is different from the internal diameter of the collar of the diffuser. A number of patents have tried to address this problem including U.S. Pat. No. 4,230,279, U.S. Pat. No. 4,295,283, U.S. Pat. No. 4,590,687, U.S. Pat. No. 4,848,007, U.S. Pat. No. 5,036,601, U.S. Pat. No. 5,275,339, U.S. Pat. No. 5,303,483 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,649,370, however, none of these patents allow the user to physically deform an elastomeric plastic collar from an oval plan view shape to a circular shape and then to slide the collar onto the hair dryer nozzle and release the collar so that it tensionally and frictionally engages the outside diameter of the hair dryer nozzle conforming to the shape of the hair dryer nozzle.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The primary object of the invention is to provide a hair dryer diffuser that can be easily attached by a user to a hair dryer nozzle.

Another object of the invention is to provide a hair dryer diffuser that can accommodate a variety of diameters of hair dryer nozzles.

Another object of the invention is to provide a hair dryer diffuser that can be tensionally and frictionally held in place on the nozzle of a hair dryer.

A further object of the invention is to provide a hair dryer diffuser that is compact and can easily be carried while traveling.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a hair dryer diffuser that is easy and economical to manufacture.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following descriptions, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein, by way of illustration and example, an embodiment of the present invention is disclosed.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, there is disclosed a diffuser for a hair dryer comprising: a collar and a flared hollow diffuser head molded of semi-rigid plastic, said collar fixedly attached to said diffuser head, said diffuser head including a plurality of air releasing apertures, said collar at least partially comprised of an elastomeric plastic capable of being compressed and deformed by a user, said collar being oval shaped in plan view in its relaxed position when not deformed by a user, said collar capable of being squeezed by a user into a circular shape to facilitate attachment of said diffuser to a hair dryer nozzle, and said collar capable of tensionally and frictionally remaining in place on said nozzle of said hair dryer when said user releases said collar after attachment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The drawings constitute a part of this specification and include exemplary embodiments to the invention, which may be embodied in various forms. It is to be understood that in some instances various aspects of the invention may be shown exaggerated or enlarged to facilitate an understanding of the invention.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the diffuser of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a rear plan view of the diffuser of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a west facing side view of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a north facing side view of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a front plan view of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a side section view of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a rear plan view of the diffuser in its deformed position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Detailed descriptions of the preferred embodiment are provided herein. It is to be understood, however, that the present invention may be embodied in various forms. Therefore, specific details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but rather as a basis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to employ the present invention in virtually any appropriately detailed system, structure or manner.

Referring now to FIG. 1 we see a perspective view of the hair dryer diffuser accessory 100 of the present invention. The invention 100 is comprised of a collar portion 75 and a flared head portion 50. The collar portion 75 is designed to slide over and tensionally and frictionally fit onto the nozzle of a standard hair dryer. The flared head portion 50 includes a plurality of apertures 6, 8 that allow warm air to pass from the hair dryer to a person's damp hair. The diffusing action is known to allow the user to dry a larger surface area of hair more quickly and to do it in a safer manner because the hot air has been diffused thereby decreasing the chance of creating a hot spot which may burn the user's hair or scalp. The collar portion 75 is comprised of a semi-rigid plastic portion 2 and a co-molded elastomeric resilient plastic portion 4. The semi-rigid collar portion 2 extends upward to become the flared head portion 50.

FIG. 2 shows a rear plan view of the invention. This view shows that the inside diameter of the nozzle receiving aperture 10 is roughly oval in shape in its relaxed position. When the user applies his or her forefinger and thumb and squeezes on finger grip area 3 (see FIG. 3) and opposing area 5 (see FIG. 3) located on semi-rigid plastic portion 2, the oval shape 10 can be squeezed into a circular shape as shown in FIG. 7. The user can then slide the collar portion 50 onto the nozzle of a standard hair dryer and then release the collar 50 so that the elastomeric portion 4 returns as much as possible to an oval shape as it tensionally and frictionally grips and conforms to the outside barrel of the hair dyer nozzle. A preferred plastic to use for the flexible collar portion 4 is Viton type plastic as it can retain its spring-like qualities even in the presence of high heat thereby helping the diffuser 100 to tensionally and frictionally stay in place even when the nozzle of the hair dryer becomes hot. The north 60 and south 80 portions of the collar are made of semi-rigid plastic, and the remaining east 90 and west 70 portions of the collar are made of resilient elastomeric plastic having a durometer index of approximately sixty in value.

FIG. 3 is a north facing side view of the invention 100 showing the flexible plastic portion 4 of the collar 50. FIG. 4 is a west side view of the invention 100 showing the semi-rigid plastic portion 2 of collar 50. FIG. 5 is a front view of the invention 100 showing the plurality of apertures 6, 8 which allow warm air to escape. The entire head portion 50 is constructed of semi-rigid plastic.

FIG. 6 is a side section view of the invention 100 as defined by section line 40 shown in FIG. 5. This view clearly shows the combination of semi-rigid plastic 2 and the co-molded location of elastomeric flexible plastic 4. Most hair dryer nozzles range in outside diameter from approximately one and seven eighths of an inch to approximately two and one quarter inches. The oval nature of the nozzle accepting aperture 10 is such that when the user squeezes the collar 50 to a circular shape it is approximately two and one quarter of an inch in diameter, and when the user releases the collar 50 to its original oval shape, the narrowest portion of the oval is approximately one and three quarters of an inch in diameter. In this way, the collar 50 of the present diffuser 100 will tensionally and frictionally hold onto and conform to the nozzle of a standard hair dryer whether the nozzle is toward the large size or the small size in outside diameter. The entire diffuser 100 is intended to be injection molded with the flexible portion 4 co-molded in place. This process is relatively easy and inexpensive to manufacture. The overall height from the top edge of the diffuser head 50 to the bottom edge of the collar 50 is approximately three inches. This makes the diffuser 100 relatively compact in comparison to standard diffusers and therefore makes it easier to store the present diffuser 100 at home, at the office or when traveling.

While the invention has been described in connection with a preferred embodiment, it is not intended to limit the scope of the invention to the particular form set forth, but on the contrary, it is intended to cover such alternatives, modifications, and equivalents as may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. 

1. diffuser for attachment to a hair dryer comprising: a collar; a flared hollow diffuser head molded of rigid plastic; said collar fixedly attached to said diffuser head; said diffuser head including a plurality of air releasing apertures; said collar at least partially comprised of an elastomeric plastic capable of being compressed and deformed by a user; said collar being oval shaped in plan view when not deformed by a user; said collar capable of being squeezed by a user into a circular shape to facilitate attachment of said diffuser to a hair dryer nozzle; and said collar capable of tensionally and frictionally remaining in place on said nozzle of said hair dryer when said user releases said collar after attachment.
 2. Diffuser for hair dryer as claimed in claim 1 wherein said elastomeric plastic collar portion is capable of retaining its tensional and frictional grip when said hair dryer nozzle is hot.
 3. Diffuser for hair dryer as claimed in claim 1 wherein said elastomeric plastic portion of said collar is constructed of Viton plastic.
 4. Diffuser for hair dryer as claimed in claim 1 wherein said diffuser is approximately three inches from the top edge of said diffuser head to the bottom edge of said collar.
 5. Diffuser for hair dryer as claimed in claim 1 wherein the diameter of said oval aperture of said collar is approximately one and three quarters of an inch wide at its narrowest point in its normal relaxed position and becomes approximately two and one quarter of an inch in circular diameter when deformed by the user during the hair dryer nozzle attachment process. 